|
Listen to this story
|
Two years ago, Jubilant FoodWorks-backed Domino’s introduced meatless ‘Unthinkable Pizza’, making it the first quick-service restaurant (QSR) to add plant-based protein to its menu in India. Touted as a 100% plant-based chicken alternative, this pizza contains dairy cheese, which is suitable for vegetarians – not vegans. However, times are changing, and new-age restaurants such as Pizza Bakery, Brick Oven and others have introduced 100% plant-based pizza with vegan cheese, going beyond just the toppings.
In conversation with Analytics India Magazine, the co-founder of Brick Oven, Sreeram Anvesh, said that they are still in the early days, where the revenue from plant-based products is between 5-10 per cent. “However, a lot of vegetarians prefer trying it out,” he added, saying that vegan or plant-based cheese is something that melts, and it is very similar to dairy cheese.
Another food joint, Burger King, is also heavily investing in expanding its plant-based menus in different countries, offering tasty alternatives for everyone who would like a substitute for animal meat. It also has plans to convert into fully vegan restaurants in a select few regions and locations in the coming months. Another popular food chain KFC is also launching plant-based ‘Beyond Fried Chicken’ at restaurants worldwide.
In July 2022, retail giant ITC launched sustainable plant-based protein products for consumers under its ITC Master Chef IncrEdible brand across two variations – the ‘Incredible Burger Patties’ and ‘Incredible’ Nuggets. In India, there are about 48 plant-based meat startups. Some notable ones include Imagine Meats, Good Dot, EVO Foods, and others. Recently, the US-based plant-based meat company Beyond Meat entered the Indian market in partnership with Allana Consumer Products.
AI & Analytics to the rescue
A lot of decisions and experimentation by some of these QSR and FMCG brands to introduce niche/emerging categories or products, particularly plant-based, redirects us to the use of AI and analytics on how they can swiftly identify the change in behaviours of its consumers and their preferences across channels, and build customised/personalised/personal menu, recommendations, and products.
Taking a cue from the popular yesteryear’s Nirma Super detergent soap cake ad, Jubilant FoodWorks’ Rahul Bharde explained that personalisation is everything. He said personalisation is something that the consumers want, but businesses need. “About 71 per cent of consumers expect personalisation,” he added, highlighting what customers expect from businesses – ‘meet me where I am’, ‘know my tastes’, ‘offer something just for me’, ‘check in with me’, etc.
Further, he said that 70 per cent of customers are likely to repeat purchases and refer to the brand with personalised interactions. “So, how do you bring this personalisation where knowing customers is hard because of the choices available today, and how do you make the personalised experience?” said Bharde, pointing at the framework they have built at Jubilant FoodWorks.
“I call it the power of one because we need to know the customer on a one-to-one basis to be able to provide the most meaningful experience,” said Bharde, touching upon various foundational aspects like the problem that you are trying to solve for the customer, who to target, and how to win customers.
Personal recommendation engine
Bharde said that at the heart of everything they do at Jubilant FoodWorks, data plays a pivotal role, where the data platform collects data from various sources, including clickstream, contact history, real-time data feeds, feedback and concerns, etc.
Later, based on the user, they build a personalisation engine that focuses on user persona, meal occasions, customer lifecycle models, user-product affinity, recommendation engine, relevance models, and offer and lift models. Once these models have been deployed, the next steps get activated, which include a magic cart, a personalised home page for the user, navigation, cross-sell and upselling, offers, and showcasing relevant content, alongside other experiments. Finally comes the business value, which assesses conversions, revenue, and customer experience.
Personal Recommendation Engine (Source: Cypher 2022)
Future of food
This is just the beginning of a new era for niche categories and plant-based products in India. As per a Bloomberg report, the plant-based food market is expected to reach $162 billion by 2030, up from $29.4 billion in 2020. The growth of the industry is linked to changes in consumer behaviour for environmental and ethical reasons.
As a result, many brands are now tapping into catering to the demand of consumers. AI and analytics could act as catalysts and help brands identify the customer trend early on and stay ahead of the competition.
Bharde said that at a national level, the number of times people eat outside food in India is still fairly low. He said even if you compare with how China is positioned and look at the journey, there is a certain average per capita income level; after that, the QSR category explodes. “We are at the junction, actually,” he added, saying that we will be seeing a lot of new players coming into such niche categories.
“I am sure there will be a lot more options available. The food will evolve – both in terms of cuisines we try out and how we order,” he added, citing the origin of ‘Paratha Pizza’ at Domino’s, where products are getting more local and global. Another example includes Samosa Party’s vegan mutton samosa, made from 100 per cent vegetarian ingredients.
Recently, MS Dhoni invested in a plant-based startup called Shaka Harry. He said that we have a choice to shift to smarter protein alternatives without compromising on taste and texture. “The plant protein segment is an exciting consumer space,” he added.
Jubilant FoodWorks’ Bharde said that the category would see a lot of innovation in every possible way through channels, products, and customer interactions. “I think we are just starting as an industry,” he added.
